School Days

The Player Piano
Basketball Uniforms in the 1950's


Fort Macleod Public School and High School
The School I attended in Grade 1 and 2 was the Orton Country School one mile from our home. I walked to School everyday by myself, through all kinds of storms, blizzards, rain, and snow. I was dressed very warm, only my eyes peeked out of my knit hat and scarf around my neck. I lived in Canada the frozen North. One teacher taught Grades 1 through 12 in this Country School. Just like Little House on the Prairie.I was the only one in Grade 1 and 2. There were two or three children in each Grade. We had a small Pot Belly Stove to heat the School.

The Teacher rang an old fashioned School Bell at recess to tell us to come back to class. Some of the children, who lived farther away, rode their Shetland Pony to School. We made an Ice rink at the School in the Winter to Skate on. I had boys skates that my Parents bought at the Thrift Store. One day I fell on the ice, and cut my chin badly and needed stitches. My Brother Ron went to School for the First Grade here too.

Then we rode the School Bus to the nearest seven miles from our home, to the Town of Fort Macleod, for the rest of our School days. We had the Basics, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.We had Physical Ed.Classes to keep us healthy and trim and Basketball Sports Program.
We had strict rules to obey, you weren't allowed to chew gum or talk in class. If you did, you were taken out in the Hall and given 3 hits on both hands with a 2 inch wide leather strap by your Teacher. The rest of the class could hear the punishment being given to each child. I was obedient and never got the strap. A lot of boys did get it. If you forgot to do your Homework you had to stay after School and write on the blackboard 100 times, "I will remember to do my homework." or "I will not fight on the playground."
One day I was late for the bus at school and fell on a broken bottle on the sidewalk, cutting a big gash in my knee through my brown cotton stockings. I arrived home and told Mother. Then my parents rushed me back to town to the Doctor, to get stitches in my knee. I was on crutches for awhile until it healed. I had a hard time climbing the stairs at School. Our School in Fort Macleod was brick with two separate entrances on each end of the School. There was a Boys entrance and a Girls entrance. Also they each had their own playground, No mixing boys and girls at recess on the playground. There were about 200 children at this School.

We took our paper bag lunch, which was usually a Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich and a apple or orange, maybe a cookie sometimes. No Junk food or drinks. We drank from the School's water fountain.

I was very shy and only had a couple of friends. During High School I learned how to play Basketball and loved it I was on the B team which travelled to the surrounding Towns. I played forward on the team. My Mother sewed my Basketball Uniform.

During the Noon Lunch Hour several Farm Students would gather around the Old Player Piano in the Hall and play the old songs, and sing along to them. My favorite was "Bye,Bye Blackbird". The Player Piano, could play my its self, you just put the music roll in and peddle it and it would play wonderful music. I also learned the game of Badminton at the Noon hour.

In High School I was in the Big Drama Production, I was a Mammy, a Black Lady and had my face blackened. We sang a lot of songs.I don't remember the names of them.It gaver me confidence to perform.

I Graduated from High School in 1956. Then I went into Nursing School for next three years.

Fun on the Farm in Canada

The Fishing Trip, Mom and Ron with their Pike
Laura Thelin,Beverley,and Dad Swimming in the Old Man River
Beverley and Ron sledding
Ron,Dennis Tolley,Jay and Dennis on Peggy
Ron, Dennis and Julie with the 4-Calves
What did we do for fun on the Farm, I dug deep into my memory banks for this blog. We didn't have an I Pod, Video Game, DVD, Video, Computer or even ONE Television set.

The only thing we had, was a battery operated Radio and an upright Piano. My brother Ron and I took Piano lessons once a week, during lunch time we walked downtown to the piano teacher's home for our piano lessons. Her name was Mrs.Christian, and later I had Mr. Henry for my teacher. The lessons cost $1.50 for 1/2 hour. I took six years of Piano Lessons, and two years of theory, my brother took two years of lessons. When I was about 16, I received a Piano Accordion for Christmas which I learned to play pretty good.

Mother played the piano by ear, she never had a lesson. she was very good. She loved to sing and had a beautiful soprano voice. Dad played the mouth organ. Later my brother Jay learned to play the mouth organ. I always wanted to play the Saxophone,I thought, it was so beautiful,the sounds it made.

Some of the children's games we played were, Mister, May I ? Red Light, Green Light, and Red Rover, Red Rover, Anti I Over. We played Marbles in the dirt, and Hopscotch, in the dirt, with a piece of glass. We played Tag, and Hide and Go Seek in the tall Canadian grass in our yard. We used the wide blades of grass to make whistles. Our Dad made wonderful whistles, out of willow trees, which grew along the river. Later my brother Jay, made a business making and selling these same whistles.

Ocasionally we go to the Movies at the Theatre in Ft. Macleod. It was a treat for us. The old movies were wonderful, lots of musicals with dancing and singing in them. Chocolate bars were five cents, and popcorn five cents. Cost of a movie ticket was 25 cents. On Farmers Holiday,once a year,the farm kids, got a day off from school so we went to the movies.

One day before Christmas our family was returning home from getting the Groceries from Lethbridge, when we opened the door, we saw Santa sitting on our kitchen table. He had on Dad's gum boots, and a Santa Clause suit stuffed with newspapers. Mom was so upset because she thought, we wouldn't believe in Santa anymore. We found out later Aunt Nora, had been there and pulled this trick on us. She had found the Santa Suit in a bag, that someone had dropped off, for the Santa for the Primary Christmas Party. Mother was the Primary President.

On year for Christmas my younger brothers, Jay and Dennis received a set of Bow and Arrows each for Christmas. Once outside looking for something, to practise on, they saw one of our many Turkeys, we raised. These were the lucky ones who hadn't been eaten for Christmas Dinner. So Dennis shot his arrow and it struck the poor Turkey right through his head and he dropped over dead. He and Jay were scared what would their Dad think now, they had killed one of his Turkeys. So they both proceeded to try and cover it up, by stomping on it, in a my mud puddle. But this didn't work very well, because the turkey, kept sticking its wing up in the air.
They never told Dad until his 80 th birthday. Dad said" I wondered what had killed that turkey?" We raised 1000 turkeys on our farm, they were free range.

We all worked together planting our big garden each year, we planted all kinds of vegetables and even Popcorn, which we popped in the winter. We would weed, water, and harvest it. We planted lots of Idaho Potatoes which we sold to the restaurants for french fries in the town of Ft. Macleod.

During harvest time in the fall the whole family, would go the wheat fields and work together,and stook the bundles of grain, that was tied with twine. This helped the wheat, weather against rain and snow. We stood the bundles up in a A formation. My younger brothers had fun teasing and chasing my little sister, who was about 4 years old with baby mice, which they found under the grain bundles. She would run and scream in fear or delight, I am not sure. She is not scared of mice today. Ron said" He drove the tractor around the fields, when he was eight years old, and Dad would come and help him turn the corners. I drove the tractor around the fields, when I was twelve years old to help Dad.

We had a couple of riding horses, one was named Old Grey and the other Peggy.I don't remember riding them much.Dad put them on the Indian Reserve to have better grass to eat. Well, we didn't see them again, Dad, said " the Indians stole them.

When our relatives came to visit from Calgary with their family quite often we didn't have a bed for them. So my Mother would put the parents in my bedroom the only one we had in our home. The children would all sleep on a quilt under the kitchen table, with another quilt on top of them. There were about eight of us under the table,all in a row. It was fun of course we talked all night. You know how Josie loves to talk.

We picked lots of wild berries in the summer. They were Saskatoons,which we bottled for winter. Saskatoon pie was the best. Gooseberries, Chokecherries,to make Pancake Syrup. One Summer we were all berry picking by the Old Man River at Ft. Macleod, when a Rattler reared up at me, ready to strike, my Dad heard it and saw it, he was about 30 feet from me. He picked up a rock and threw it at the Snake and he saved my life. I was grateful for him.

In the winter, we went sledding down the big snow drifts, behind our home. We had snow ball fights, with each other and built snowmen. It was very cold. I always wanted to learn to ski but we were too poor to afford ski's.Later we got a toboggan.
We made Homemade Ice Cream in the Winter and Summer usually on a Sunday afternoon when everyone was home. Our family favorite was Maple Walnut.

In the Winter it was sometimes too cold to play outside, so we spent our time listening to the stories, Mother read to us while we were all huddled her and around the big wood stove. We would all put our feet in the oven to keep us warm.

Jay and Dennis made a Skating and Hockey rink by the house, they used the windmill to pump the water on the ground. They used the family dog named Bullet to be their Goalie. He was retriever and they used a ball to play hockey with instead of a puck. Bullet would jump and catch the ball for them. They trained Bullet to stay at the goalie net, then he would catch the ball. He was the best goalie. Bullet was also the back catcher during their baseball games, they played. They loved him and I'm sure Bullet enjoyed the fun too.

Before Christmas my Dad would go to the Mountains in B.C. and cut a truck load of Christmas trees for Ron and I to sell to make out Christmas money.
We sold them for $2.00-$5.00 in our yard, to the neighbors. Later Jay made fancy Candles which he sold for $5.00 each for Christmas money too.

During the spring thaw the ditches would fill up to the top with water. I remember Ron and I built rafts out of any wood we could find. We rafted down the over flowing ditches, using a long stick to navigate us.

I had a girls bike to ride and would often ride it up to the Cemetery.
My brother Jay said" when I left, all that he had, was a girls bike to ride.
Ron said" He had a boys bike to ride."
One of our favorite things to do was slide down, the slanted tin roof, of the barn,landing in the pile of soft hay.One day I did this and I knew I would get the strap for doing it, so I was prepared, I put a tin pie plate in the back of my jeans and when Mom gave it to me, I didn't even cry. The boys would crawl through the tunnels in the hay the pigs had made, but they wouldn't let their little sister follow them.

During the summer hot days we used the water hole for the cows to drink from, to swim in. It was green and slimy.The cows used it as a bathroom too. I would never swim in that water hole. My brothers did. Dennis said" That was probably why he developed Hepatitis C later. It was amazing that they didn't get Polio from it too.We also swam in the Old Man River, in the swimming hole.

My Mom and Dad loved to fish, they used long bamboo poles. On time Mom and my brother Ron, were fishing in the Old Man River, they both caught huge Pike. Ron's was 43" long and Mom's was 45" long. A time to remember, I never fished, I was the babysitter for the younger ones. I still want to learn, how to fish, if my husband would teach me.

Dad wanted the boys to raise 4-H calves to take to the Fair one summer. They were to feed them, brush them, teach them to lead. They didn't win anything at the Fair. The calves weren't fat enough.But it taught responsibity.But they didn't become farmers.

First Day of School

The Spectacular Sky
The blue sky background
.The Sun was trying to break through the clouds.
California Palm Trees
The First Day of School

Oak Tree School
The Park Play ground

It is the first day of School for all the children, On my early morning walk these are the things I saw. It is 7:30 a.m, it is 85 degrees already. The first thing I saw, was the beautiful sky.

We don't usually see clouds here, when you do, it is spectalular. Today was special, because they were like fluffy white carpet, with a blue showing through them, all over the sky. The sun had not made it through the clouds yet. So I grabbed my camera and decided to document my walk, of what I saw today.
Beautiful California swatty Palm trees, which I love, children walking to school with their parents. The Oak Tree School, ready for School to start today, with the lawns, groomed for all the children to play on. The children walking to school excited for their first day at School.

The Playground at the Park was vacant, no one was swinging on the swings or sliding down the slides. The tire swing at our neighbors house was empty too.

When got finished my walk I watered my garden and the sprinkler head, leaks all over me, and got my camera wet in my pocket, Well I thought I totally lost all these pictures. Well I blew on my camera hoping to dry it out. Scanned it, still no pictures, all were blank. So I tried hooking my camera to the computer and scanning them in, it worked. Yeah!

To BE or NOT TO BE

My decision to become a Registered Nurse, began when I was five years old. When I came down with Pneumonia at age twelve and spent 2 weeks in the Lethbridge, Alberta Hospital,I loved the Nurses and that was what I wanted to be, when I grew up. When I graduated from High School.

I entered the Nursing profession.I enrolled in the three year Nursing Course at St. Michael's School of Nursing,in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada to become a R.N. We had six hours of book work a day and then were assigned to work on the Hospital floors. This how we learned hands on through watching the older Nurses perform their duties.

I loved my Nurses Uniform, I felt so professional. I lived on the fifth floor of the Nurses Residence. I had to attend Catholic prayers at 6 a.m. each morning. If you were late for prayers you were house bound. So if I slept in,I was usually was found dashing down the five flights of stairs, putting my uniform on while I was running. By the time I reached the bottom I was dressed. We didn't have an elevator in the building.

The Polio epidemic was raging in the 50's,many children came down with it, Penicillin was the new drug of choice, along with hot packs, which we applied continuously on their legs and arms. Also Tuberculosis was very contagious and the patients were sent to the T.B. Sanitarium at Calgary, Alberta, where they were isolated and treated. Pneumonia was very common, many developed it from the harsh cold winter weather in Canada, Treatment was again Penicillin and hot steamer in the room, and linseed poultices which we put on their chests. No antibiotics were available yet. Cancer was just starting very few cases were diagnosed.

On day, my younger Sister age 5 and my Mother came to visit me, she saw the red thing on the wall, which she hadn't seen before, and pulled it, she didn't know it was the fire alarm, she was little,the fire alarm went off and the fire trucks came.After that no visitors were allowed upstairs, in our residence to visit us.

The first year we had a Capping Ceremony where I received my Yellow band on my Nurses hat. Then the second year I received a navy blue band. The Third year I received a Black band, as my Graduation Ceremony. I received a dozen long stemmed roses when I graduated.

My Internship was at the Mental Hospital at Ponoka, Alberta, for three months.The food was all home made by the patients. We had fresh homemade rolls, everyday. Homemade Ice Cream was a favorite.Of course I gained 30 pounds there.
I helped give the electric shock treatments.You tie belts around the patient so they can't move. It erased their memory.

There was a lot of Schizophrenia patients there, some thought they were the Queen of England,or somebody famous.They sat around and smoked and rolled their own cigarettes all day. Man they were crazy!!One day I had to clean the toilets about 20 of them in a row, I found after I had done this I was supposed to wear rubber gloves. These were the toilets the Syphilis patients used.I thought I would get Syphilis for sure. There were rumors that if you worked on the second floor,this crazy lady would throw chairs and tables at you, That scared me to death. I didn't have to work on that floor. The Male interns were fun to be with, I developed a crush on one of them. We dated after work.

My next internship was the Calgary Crippled Children's Hospital,at Calgary, Alberta. While there I lived a Dorum next to the Hospital there were twelve beds for us. I had good experiences while training there. I worked with the Perthe's Children, they had a hip deformity's where there didn't have a hip socket.They were five or six years old.Every morning I would give them a bed bath,make their beds and wrap the tensor bandages around their legs in a splint to keep their legs at the right angle,then their foot of the bed was elevated, so their hip socket could develop.Then they could walk. They stayed in the Hospital for two years. We read to them, gave them games to play etc. They had to stay in bed all day.
There was a sweet young girl I remember about 8 years old, who had Osteomylitis in her legs. Where the bone in her legs,had staphylococcus infection and the infection oozed out of the skin on top of her legs. I had to change her bandages every day.
After I graduated in September 1959,I worked at St.Michael's Hospital for two years on the Medical and Surgical Floors.Then I worked at the Campbell Clinic as a Clinical Nurse for a Pediatrician.

I got married to James Brian Gough after Graduation. Three years later, I got pregnant with my first child.and quit nursing for a short period.
My husband and I moved to Medicine Hat,Alberta, Canada.I worked part time at the Hospital there, on a Surgery floor,for two years. then we moved to Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

I didn't work in Calgary I had two little boys now,and they took all of my time.
We moved back to Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Where my Husband was called as Bishop of our Ward. He was a Furniture Salesman, drove a semi truck on weekends for Law Transport to Calgary.

I worked at the Medicine Hat Hospital, on the Labor and delivery floor part time three days a week.I loved this job,new babies coming into this world. Especially on New Years Eve, it was very exciting and busy,seeing who would have the New Years baby for that year. I had another baby boy while we lived there.
I worked for six years at this Hospital then, we sold our home and moved to Raymond,Alberta,Canada.

I worked as an Operating Room Nurse at the Raymond Municipal Hospital. I loved the Operating room, it was so interesting to work there. We did a lot of Gall Bladder and Hysterectomy's, Tonsils, D & C's, Hip replacements, Breast implants,casts on broken limbs. This hospital was a small Community Hospital with only 25 beds. So I was the charge Nurse on other shifts,we had only one Nurse and one Nurses Aide on each shift. You could be in the Obstetrics Dept.helping deliver a new baby or have someone else having a heart attack or diabetic reaction at the same time. Also you had to cover any Emergencies that might come in to the Emergency Dept.

One night our former Bishop came into Emergency, with his wife,he had been in a terrible,snowmobile accident, His wife immediately fainted on me.I had the Aide take care of her. He had driven through a barbwire fence, in the dark,cutting his face from the barbwire,in three places.Across his nose, across his chin and forehead. The Doctor and I worked together stitching him up so his face would not be scarred forever. It took over 200 stitches. He looked really good when it all was healed.

My daughter was born in Lethbridge. She was two years old now. Then we moved to Lethbridge, again I had made full circle and was back where I started.I drove to Raymond Hospital for a few months.One night when I was working there I couldn't drive home to Lethbridge, because there was big blizzard going on and the roads were drifted full. So I spent the night down the basement of the Hospital sleeping on a cot.All night the water heated pipes made such a noise I couldn't get any sleep.

Then my Husband left me,for another woman. I got a job at St. Michael's Hospital, again on the Surgical floor. I worked night shift so I could be home with my family during the day.I worked there for one year, Then I took the Nurses Refresher Course at the Lethbridge Community College.

After that I got a job working as a Nurse at the Lethbridge Correctional Institute{AKA} Jail.There were four Nurses working there. We had our own Health Office. The Dentist came three times a week and I worked as a Dental assistant.The other four days the Doctors took turns visiting the Inmates.We had a lot of drunks, there they would be put in the drunk tank, as it was called, until they were sober. Which was a room with a cement floor with nothing else in the room.Several would be in there at once, they would be lying all over each other in order to keep warm.

This was a great experience for me, one day I got called down to the cell block to give injection of 10 cc.s of Paraldehyde to a drunk who was having Delirium Tremors or D.T.s. He was seeing pink elephants walking on the ceiling. Four Guards held him down while gave my injection in his but.

Another experience, I had while working there was when a inmate set his mattress on fire and the whole cell block was filled with smoke. He was put in solitary confinement.This was a small room with no bed or anything in it.

Another time a inmate had a convulsion or seizure when he was carrying a hot cup of coffee. Which he spilled all over him, I took his vitals and watched him come out of the seizure. He recovered and was okay.

Another incident was when one of the inmates broke his light bulb in his cell and slashed his wrists with several cuts on both arms. Two guards came and held him down so I could clean and bandage his cuts. He was put on 24 hr. watch,and moved to a cell across from the guards.I worked there for about six months.

When you gave out medicines to the Inmates, you sat the small med cup on the cell bars, if you handed it to them, they could grab your arm and pull it in through the bars and break it.The Guards were the ones you had to watch out for then because you had a pitcher of water in one hand and tray of pills in the other. They would escort you across the cell block when you gave medicines, they would try to put their arm around you. At night the Guards would escort you to your car for your protection.If you were taken hostage they told us to swallow our med keys ,they were the keys to drugs.I never had to do this thank goodness.

Then I did Home Care Nursing at Coaldale,ALberta,Canada.I took care of a blind 80 year old man in his home. Then I took Sarinah with me on a day job to care for twin baby girls in a small rural home near Taber,Alberta. I took care of a blind three month old baby, which was very challenging.I couldn't give him his bottle when he lost it in his crib.He had to find it himself, but I so wanted to help him.

I also promoted a Read - A-Thon for School Children in Southern Alberta for the Multiple Sclerosis Society ,where I went to several public Schools with a young girl about 23 years old, who had Multiple Sclerosis and was walking with a cane.I explained what Multiple Sclerosis was and how the kids could help make money for this Organization by reading lots of books during the summer. It was a fun job for a few days.
I went to Beaverton,Oregon, met my Husband, he came to Canada after he finished his work there, We were married soon after in Calgary and proceeded immigration papers.In two months we moved to Beaverton, Oregon. I worked doing Home Care only making $ 4.00 a hour, A big drop from my Canadian wages of @11.00 a hr.My husband was out of work for two years from his construction job.

I did Home care in Lake Oswego, Oregon taking care of a Paralyzed boy about 22 years old. He was put into a vegetative state, when his car he was riding in the back seat was hit by a train. I worked the night shift. I turned him every two hours, keep his oxygen going.His Mother had become an alcoholic, his Dad was in charge of everything, including taking care of his wife.

Then we moved to Gilbert, Arizona, when I worked in Home Care again I took care of a Quadriplegic boy in his 30's for 15 years. He had been hurt in a car accident too. He was the passenger in the front seat.The driver didn't have scratch on him. The car was totaled when they hit a brick wall after drinking all night.His neck was broken at C3. He was seventeen when this happened. I worked for him until my back developed arthritis so bad, I had to quit. For I couldn't lift him any more.
I retired from Nursing to do other things.

My Red Peppers

Today I have finally accomplished, the art of growing Red Peppers here in Arizona in this heat. I have three red ones today and more green ones which will turn red. I have tried many years but they only burnt up in the summer. This year I covered them with a sheet to keep them from baking in the sun. Well it worked Yeah !! I created my own mini Green House.